You call it madness, but I call it love....

Wow, its been a long time since somone has posted on here! Well it doesn't look like anyone is going to post up on here anymore.....

"If I could have just one wish, I would wish
to wake up
everyday to the sound of your breath on my
neck, the warmth of your
lips on my cheek, the touch of your fingers
on my skin, and the feel
of your heart beating with
mine...
Knowing that I could never find that feeling with anyone other
than you."

utada Hikaru

Sorry.... it's that time of night and I'm in that mood :'(

私は日本の
~Deathgod Captain~
人を愛する
死の神 ~ Seema~ の大尉

GGGGRRRRRR!

Hiya Ms. T

We are all missing you! you were are good luck charm. Now you've gone they have filtered both blogs. I don't know if the Stanmiester knows about this but we will tell him. I am soooooo annoyed with the useless school you have left! But on the plus side I hope you are great, We are all fine... Except Jodie but we all knew she was going senile (LOL) But please tell FVS to sort there lives out and get there a**** into gear


Luv you Ms T. ... Oh and rest of the class!

Ashley
xxxxx

Memories...

Hello to you all

I'm waiting for a copy of the novel to arrive - it may take a while, but in the meantime, I'm going to try to remember some of the key elements.

One of the things I remember asking the group to consider is some of the main themes; memory and perception. Consider whose eyes you are seeing things through, and whether or not that changes the reader's perception. Consider the childlike ideals and ideas and whether we can or cannot trust the narrative voice.

Look closely at some of the language - key words, phrases and recollections and what they say about the narrator. Also consider the contrast between him narrating in the present and of the past and differences.

Focus on the key scenes between the two lead characters and consider the status of each of them. It may be worth doing an 'emotion graph' or something like that to look at their relationship. Do this for several key points during the novel (along the horizontal axis - can't remember the maths term for that), and you can chart how their relationship evolves and use it to analyse why.

Also the politics of friendship - the nuances and subtleties of how quickly things change.

I found a website which has a very basic scheme of work on it which is actually for students a lot younger (I don't think it's appropriate for younger students actually), but that may get you thinking. Go to http://www.heinemann.co.uk/shared/Resources/NonSecure/00000001/Spies.pdf

to have a look.

Going back to themes, look at this list, and consider them as you work through the novel:

Englishness, Deception/betrayal, Power, Memory, Friendship, Identity (national, family etc), Male identity,Perception/how we interpret the world, Conformity/individuality,Innocence and experience, Bullying, Sexual awakening, Storytelling/fantasy,Childhood, Belonging, The class system, Making sense of the past, Language and meaning, Alienation/dislocation, The role and place of women.

I hope this is enough to be going on with. Lots of people tend to think of this book as a bit 'ploddy' and dull, but I think it's definitely a case of scratch beneath the surface and it gets a lot more interesting.

Take care - let me know if this is ok.

Miss T

Only me......

Hello you lovely(?) lot, Miss T here

Well, finally I get to see what you've all been up to!!!

I have just spent a bit of time reading over this well-designed blog and think you need to concentrate more on the content than the colours. Ha ha.

Why am I here? Because you're worth it of course. I'm going to keep an e-eye on you all, and see how you're getting on with the novel. You may even find that I make the odd comment, suggestion or raise a question or two. You may have already found that there aren't too many resources on Spies, as it's such a new book to the syllabus, but never fear, I took copies of everything I used when teaching it last year, (in fact it was my scheme of work, so I was entitled to those copies!) so will use that I think.

Anyway, I'm going to sign off now. You poor people are at school at the moment, and I'm not - my half term holiday is this week, so I'm enjoying some rest and relaxation. Everything is hunky-dory at this end, life is good. Just so you know, I'm more likely to access the blog in the evenings, as believe it or not I have little time in the day as I have a job of work to do. Let me know how you all are. Be happy.

Miss T x

Lamorna Forever

I assume that I'm the only to have read and enjoyed the book...lolsy. Oh dear! I took it with me to Turkey during les Christmukule holidays. As luck would have it whenever I sat down to read my cousins decided that we would go out. L'anyhoodle, I read all but the last couple of chapters on the plane and found it gripping. I like that Frayn doesn't reveal the vital pieces of the jigsaw to us until later. The narrative voice is very effective, and is reminiscent of going round your grandpappy's house and sitting by the fire listening to his old stories with great curiosity. Sort of a 'memoirs', almost like an entry in a forgotten diary left in the attic...

That's all I'll write for now, I'm kind of distracted because CSI is on and they've found a skeleton ooo...

~~*Buffy Bloom*~~
~~*Gamze*~~

Sigh

The.Most.Boring.Book.IHave.Ever.Read.

Even this post is more exciting that the book. I'm not even page one! Anyway, thats my opinion, any comments?

Leah

History

I've been reading some reviews and looking up Michael Frayn and his story Spies. Apparently he wrote another novel called 'Headlong'. The review says that it is unclear whether or not Frayn deliberately intended the story to be so slow but that in the last 50 pages, the pace becomes a lot more rapid and everything is resolved. Apparently there are some good twists and turns but I didnt read them and am still waiting to find out.
The author, Michael Frayn began his writing career in 1962 and is still a relatively active author. He has held several occupations such as a reporter, columnist, novelist, playwright, and screenwriter and has worked for some famous newspapers such as the Guardian and the Observer. Typically, his publications are in the genres of farce and historical fiction. He has written many novels, plays, non-fictitious works, and has earned multiple awards.
Examples are:

Novels

The Tin Men (1965)
The Russian Interpreter (1966)
Towards the End of the Morning (1967)
A Very Private Life(1968)
Sweet Dreams (1973)
The Trick of It (1989)
A Landing on the Sun (1991)
Headlong (1999)
Spies (2002)

Plays

The Two of Us, (four one-act plays for two actors_ (1970)
Alphabetical Order and Donkeys' Years (1977)
Clouds (1977)
Make and Break (1980)
Noises Off (1982)
Benefactors (1984)
Wild Honey trans. Chekhov (1984)
Balmoral (1987)
First and Last (1989)
Listen to This: Sketches and Monologues (1990)
Jamie on a Flying Visit; and Birthday (1990)
Look Look (1990)
Audience (1991)
Here (1993)
La Belle Vivette, a version of Jacques Offenbach's La Belle Hélène (1995)
Now You Know (1995)
Alarms and Excursions: More Plays than One (1998)
Copenhagen (1998)
Plays: Three (2000)
Democracy (2003)

Non-Fiction

The Day of the Dog, articles reprinted from The Guardian (1962)
The Book of Fub, articles reprinted from The Guardian (1963)
On the Outskirts, articles reprinted from The Observer (1964)
At Bay in Gear Street, articles reprinted from The Observer (1967)
The Original Michael Frayn, a collection of the above four, plus nineteen new Observer pieces.
Speak After the Beep: Studies in the Art of Communicating with Inanimate and Semi-animate Objects, articles reprinted from The Guardian (1995)
Constructions, a volume of philosophy (1974)
Celia's Secret: An Investigation (US title The Copenhagen Papers ), with David Burke (2000)
The Human Touch: Our part in the creation of the universe (2006)

By Saif